Spilt Blood of the Crazed
by Suikai
Summary: GaraaSakura AU.   She worked hard to get to where she was, stepping over obsticles that most would cry at the face of.  When one of those comes back to haunt her, what is a girl to do?
1. Chapter 1

This is the first fic that I've posted on the site; I'm praying that it's not my last! Anyway, I hope you all enjoy, this fic is AU of course. A Gaara/Sakura AU fic! I don't see enough of them, so I decided to write one.

R&R please!! 3

Disclaimer: I do not own any Naruto Characters in the slightest…I wish I did though…But I don't think that counts for much ;;

A forced sigh rolled past her lips, how she had been convinced that working another 10 hour shift would be great for the community or something along those lines by her Senior Attending was beyond her. It was more then clear the that aged Doctor had wanted to go golfing with his superiors, obviously trying to get out of the hell hole that was known as Konoha County Hospital.

The young female doctor ran a hand through her rosette colored hair, glaring lasers at the giant stack of clipboards sprawled around on the small coffee table in the private lounge. This would take hours of work, going through each chart and signing off on the things that she could sign off on, then having to hunt down the nurses and get their signature.

With a small tug, her white half coat fell from her shoulders lazily onto the what was supposed to be white but was almost brown, flower printed sofa. The cushions all had stains, a burn mark littering here and there. The name pin that clearly shined the name "Sakura Haruno" facing upwards proudly in the dull, almost gloomy atmosphere.

Her small pale hands traveled to her head, snagging the almost out of ink pen hidden behind her ear. It was truly the only place she could keep something and not forget she put it there. Sakura clicked the pen expertly, the small point jutting out with a small noise. Sea foam green eyes traveled across the table, moving over the papers. She needed to pick one and just get it over with.

So she did. Glancing over the form she sighed, remember the patient clearly in her mind. He was 65, complaining about a stomach problem. The nurses had ordered scans off all type to find the problem, automatically suspecting the worse and wasting County's resources. What was suspected to be an ulcer had ended up being nothing more then gas. Horrible smelling gas at that.

Sakura looked over the forms, chewing on the end of her worn pen, jotting her signature down where it was needed. At one point she reached a patient whose sheet had absolutely nothing on it. She groaned, grinding her teeth together, it was just another lawsuit waiting to happen.

Having moved at a pace most people would be envious of, she paused for a moment, only half an hour into the work that would clearly take most of her already precious time. A commotion out in the hallway outside the room she currently occupied caught her attention. Obviously something was going on.

It took effort to motivate herself to put the pen down and pause the tedious work, because she knew that it would take even more motivation to start back up again. Sakura found herself up and out the door, straightening her coat. A small child could be heard screaming from the waiting room lobby, and the clerk at the desk was almost yelling for people to wait their turn and be patient.

"Dr. Haruno! We've been looking for you!" A small nurse came running towards the also tiny doctor, frantically waving a clipboard with more paperwork.

"What is going on?" Sakura had taken on a hard look about her, one that she often took in situations that called for no nonsense.

"In Emergency 4! Hurry!" The nurse was gasping, trying to catch her breath but failing miserably. "Naruto….Uzumaki…Hurt!"

She didn't need to finish because the young doctor was already moving, looking over the chart that had been handed to her. A scowl set upon her face, the fool had been in another street fight apparently. Even after the severe beating she had given him herself last time she had seen him. Only this time he was in a worse condition then he had ever been in.

Sakura had reached the room in record time, and immediately threw herself into the chaos. Naruto was bloody all over, the liquid still pouring from his now crooked nose. A small flood of relief washed over her when she realized that he did look worse for wear. His eyes slightly glazed, as if day dreaming.

"Naruto…" Her voice seemed to pull him back from what he was thinking about, and a smile spread over his face.

"Hey Sakura! How are you?" He seemed excited about absolutely nothing as always. Of course he wouldn't be Naruto if he wasn't.

Sakura cleared her throat, dismissing the nurses that had been in the room, they were making to much of a fuss. After they left, the pink haired female moved towards the IV drip currently fastened to the blond mans arm.

"Oh, I'm fine Naruto, "Her tone gentle and mother like, "I had been in the middle of, you know, that thing that people like to call work." Sakura had pushed slightly on the bag, sending the fluid quickly through the needle into the patient's veins.

A yelp erupted from Naruto, his eyes widening, "Now Sakura, before you start…"

It was like a switch in her head had been pushed, the professional flying out the window and in flying a mad woman, "Before I start? Before I START?" The blond flinched, instantly regretting his words.

"Now why would I START Naruto?" She spoke the word 'start' clearly and louder then the rest of her words. "Would I START because I have only seen you here 5 times in the past 3 weeks?"

Naruto opened his mouth, but was quickly cut off. Sakura's buttons had been pushed, and she was going to let him know. "I don't want to hear your excuses! Naruto, you had led me to believe that you would at least tone down your fighting!"

"But Sakura-"

"No Naruto, this is driving me crazy! You come in here almost every other day, sometimes broken, bloody, or bruised! Do you not realize how much I stress out over you?"

During her rant she had grabbed a cloth and soaked it in rubbing alcohol, she was currently ringing it out slightly in the silver sink located next to the messy bed.

"Every time you come in, and someone gives me the chart. I swear my heart skips a beat! What if something horrible has happened! What if you've been stabbed and one of your arteries have been cut through? What if-"

The rag was being pushed against a cut on the blonds face, making him wince.

"Sakura! Would you just hear me out! I swear-!"

"Naruto, damn it! I told you! I don't want to hear your excuses!"

"It was Sasuke!"

The doctor stopped in her tracts, she had been in the process of preparing a needle and suture kit. Her eyes widened, "WH-what?"

"It was Sasuke, he's gotten out. He's here in Konoha; he kept talking about how he was going to come see you…" His half clean face took on an expression of pain, "I couldn't let him come here. Not with how he treated you…"

Sakura was looking at Naruto through wide eyes, "Oh Naruto…" She shook her head, standing from the stool she had sat upon, her arms wrapping around the injured man. "Thank you."

Naruto nodded, wrapping her arms around her small waist, his head falling on her shoulder. "You know you mean the world to me, I don't want anything to happen to you!"

Sea foam green eyes watered as she pulled away, kissing him lightly on the forehead, "What would I do without you Naruto?"

He shrugged, "I donno…Date horrible men?"

Sakura Haruno had discharged Naruto from the hospital after their small moment. He was the only family she had; the young woman had never really known her parents. They had continuously sent her off to private school after private school once she had reached the age of 4. So when he came into the hospital beat to a bloody pulp, well a person could only take so much.

The parking garage was empty, mostly due to the face that it was 4 in the morning. Her car had been parked at the end of one of the isles, so the young doctor had a long trek in front of her. A walk in which she had to balance 35 clipboards and all her other belongings.

She had finally reached her beat up old car, setting everything on the roof and digging through her almost bottomless pockets. Sakura had settled for putting everything that she pulled out onto the roof of her car. A pen, a cell phone, a pamphlet for something or another, another pen, some change, and finally her keys.

Everything was shuffled back into her pockets, and she unlocked her doors, putting her things away in a way that she could easily pull it out. She had just leaned into her car when a footstep echoed off the walls. Immediately she turned, and when she saw no one else in the garage with her, she gave up on order and jumped into the front seat of her car.

With cell phone in hand she called Naruto, praying that he would answer. When his voice clicked on she released the breath that she hadn't known she was holding.

"Yeah?"

"Naruto?"

"Sakura what's wrong?"

"I'm sorry Naruto…I know you're probably busy. You know what, forget it." She began taking the phone away from her ear, telling herself that she was imagining things and over reacting.

"WAIT! Sakura!"

She pulled the phone back to her head, "Yeah?" She rolled her eyes, even to her the tremor in her voice was a sign that something was wrong.

"Do you want to come over?"

It was as if he had read her mind. The last thing she had wanted to do was go home, more so now that Sasuke was back. Sakura knew for a fact that she was no match for him. She would crumble at his feet is he asked her too.

"You…You don't mind?"

"Not at all." His voice cheery, calming the rosette slightly.

"I'll be over in a minute; I'm just leaving work now."

"Alright. Hey! That means you can meet my sparring partner! I'm sure he wants to meet you after all the talking I've done about you!"

Sakura smiled, "Alright, see you in a few."

"Bye Sakura!"

She leaned forward, resting her head against the steering wheel, exhaling slowly trying to calm her nerves. The worn leather on the wheel made a small stretching noise as she tightened her hands. Her worries were getting the best of her, and she needed to stop.

Nodded her head, after reassuring herself, Sakura stuck the keys into the ignition and started the car up. Having to hold the keys in the start position for a moment before her starter finally kicked in. Dr. Haruno quickly threw her car into reverse and left the garage. Trying her hardest to ignore the hairs standing up on the back of her neck.


	2. Chapter 2

Thanks to all those who reviewed, I do appreciate your insight or just support for writing .

I had just gotten home from school when the urge to write struck me hard. So here's chapter two, I'm no exactly pleased with Gaara's section…But it will do.

And I'm sorry the story is starting out slow, I'm very picky and I'm not a fan of the stories where the two in the story fall head over heels for each other in the first 5 minutes of meeting Oo

Anyway, please enjoy. Any and all Criticism is welcome!

R&R!

Sakura Haruno had reached Naruto's small single bedroom apartment in less then 15 minutes, having rushed through non-existent traffic easily. The new apartment complex was well lit, the brick side of the building absorbing the light from the street lamps and almost flowing with a red haze.

The always excited adult lived on the third floor, his lower story neighbor being an odd old cat lady who seemed to always have an album with pictures of her cats always with her, and then his next door neighbor who was a miserable looking balding man who looked around the age of 25ish despite loosing his hair.

Upon walking up the horrible 3 flights of stairs, Sakura finally reached his door once again juggling clipboards and other odd items. A swift knock on the door and she was left standing patiently for her friend to open the door, chewing on her bottom lip in a nervous manner.

The door was thrown open, and there greeting her was what would have been extremely sexy picture had it not been Naruto. His shirt was missing, leaving him dressed in only a pair of loose black sweatpants, his white with small red hearts boxers poking up slightly. The blond was completely drenched in sweat, the almost 12 pack of abs shining nicely in the lighting coming from outside.

"Sakura! About damn time! I've been sitting here waiting!" He had stepped out, hugging her tightly, his sweat staining the simple white t-shirt she wore. The look in her face instantly switched from calm to annoyed, if she was a cartoon character, she would clearly have a vein sticking out of her head.

"Naruto…"

He must have immediately noticed what he had done because he had let her go, stepping back and his hand traveling up to scratch the back of his head cutely.

"Sorry Sakura, I should have noticed." A nervous smile spread over his face, his hand leaving his head and reaching for Sakura's shoulder, wrapping around it softly and pulling her inside.

"We'll find you another shirt, I just did laundry…Ehh…Actually, Hinata just did my laundry, but it's all the same thing!" He turned, dragging the poor girl into his apartment, closing the door behind them. He didn't bother locking the door, because if you think about it, who would want to break into an apartment that belonged to someone with the violent reputation of Naruto?

Sakura glanced around quickly, the first thing she wanted to find was a place to just drop all her things and forget about them for the night. As if reading her mind Naruto turned them around quickly, pointing to the closet hidden away in the entry way next to the front door.

"You can just throw your things in there, I never use it. So it should be empty."

The blond then left her there, walking down the small hallway and disappearing around the corner into the living room. The sounds of two people talking echoed her direction, but Sakura paid little mind to them. She easily opened the closet door, finding that was indeed empty. A small voice in the back of her mind, telling her that if she had found anything it would have been the sweater she had gotten the boy last year for Christmas.

Surprisingly there was a few hangers hanging from the bar, one on which she hung her once pristine coat. Small flecks of blood on the sleeves, a smear on the bottom, and an odd out of place blue stain on the bottom of the left pocket. Green eyes rolled, that stain would be the hardest to get out, damn cheap pens. They couldn't be chewed on properly at all.

Her worn flat loafers kicked into a corner. Maybe if someone decided to break in, they would steal those and she would be able to wear tennis shoes to work, because those things where absolutely dreadful.

With her purse and clipboards still in hand, Sakura finally ventured farther into the home. When she reached the living room, what must have been the bathroom door shut as Naruto reached her vision. He was pushing a simple black leather sofa against the wall. Now that she looked around, it was the only piece of furniture that seemed to be in the right place. Everything was pushed, stacked or half-hazardly leaning against something along the wall. A small poor wooden old table had what looked to be a 100 pound shelf standing proudly upon it, the legs looking as if they would give out any moment.

The room smelled of sweat, so who ever had disappeared into the bathroom while she had walked in must have been who ever Naruto had been sparring with. A second glance around, Sakura instantly noticed that not a single electronic was littered among the things along the wall except for a lamp, and not a single picture of anything dotted the walls. His apartment was very bare for someone with such personality and someone who was known for doing things his way.

"Hey! You thirsty Sakura?

Naruto's voice pulled Sakura out of her mind wandering, she shook her head no. More then likely all he would have was some kind of sports drink, and tap water was out of the question when it was from a place she wasn't in charge of the tap filter herself.

"Alright, suit yourself, go ahead and make your self comfortable my buddy should be out here soon." A smile spread across the blonds' face, "He said something about not wanting to smell like me in front of a woman…Whatever that meant…"

A small smile found its way on the rosettes' lips, a small sigh rolling past them as she flopped down lazily on the new smelling leather couch, her purse and work forgotten at her feet. It was so nice to just flop down and relax once in a while, something she never had the opportunity to do at work. She lounged lazily; the sounds of Naruto muttering swear words at something he couldn't open in the kitchen just barely grabbing her attention. She was almost too comfortable to notice when the bathroom door opened and who ever was in there had made their way into the kitchen.

"Hey! Can you open this for me, it's the last one I have and of fucking course it won't open!" Naruto always resorted to swearing loudly when things didn't go his way.

A simple "Hnn" was the response, and then an excited holler, obviously Naruto had gotten what he wanted.

"Hey Sakura! Wake up for me for a second! I want you to meet someone."

One sea foam green eye opened, glancing towards Naruto, he was chugging the orange bottle of sports drink, no more like inhaling it. He pulled it away from his mouth, a loud belch wrenching its way free from his stomach.

"I want you to meet Gaara. Sakura Gaara, Gaara Sakura."

Sakura almost jumped at the intensity of the look she was receiving from the man standing behind her friend. His arms crossed tightly over his chest. His almost unnatural dark red hair lying as it wished upon his head, if it could talk, it would more then likely tell everyone to "Fuck off". The odd tattoo on his forehead is what drew her eyes down, an odd place to have a tattoo that said "Love". But it did add to the rebel aura that seemed to just radiate off of him. His jade eyes seemed to bore holes into her, even if he meant to or not, it was causing goose bumps to erupt all over her pale flesh, the thick dark rings around his eyes only adding to the effect.

"Hnn."

Sakura stood up, a smile spreading over her face, a small blush staining her cheeks. He was shirtless, his washboard like abs just screaming at her, but somehow the doctor was able to keep her composer and not let the man in front of her know the reaction she was having.

"Nice to meet you." Her hand stretched forward, and she held it out for him to shake. When he simply looked at it, like it was offending him in someway, Sakura instantly wanted to pull her hand back. She was stopped when he reached out quickly and shook her hand once, his hand snaking back to his chest where it was soon folded again with the other.

"I should've warned you, Gaara's not exactly a people person." Naruto was scratching the back of his head, something he did quite often. The red head looked down at Naruto, being that he was at least a head taller then the blond and about 2 heads taller then the young Doctor he just met. The look he gave the boy was one that if he could melt things with his eyes, Naruto would be goo staining the dirty looking gray carpet.

"We're about to start up again…You don't mind do you Sakura?"

"Not at all Naruto, it gives me a chance to get my work done before I go in tomorrow night." As Sakura spoke she reached down grabbing a clipboard from her feet and digging through her purse and pulling out a thoroughly chewed pen, more then likely it was also be staining one of her coat pockets.

Sakura found herself more watching the two men wrestle then doing her work, who wouldn't? When you have to right a summary on someone who had gotten a quarter stuck up his nose, wouldn't you rather watch two extremely manly bodies's covered in sweat? She was a woman with hormones after all.

It was more then obviously that Gaara was faster and more skilled Naruto, he continued to pin the blond easily, causing said blond to curse and cry like a child.

"I thought you guys would be sparring, not wrestling?" Sakura asked while they were both drinking water. They both jumped as if they had forgotten her, Naruto smiling widely at her, as if the answer was simple.

"We are in a tiny apartment, if we were really going to spar, someone would end up out the window or through a wall. All we have room for here is just some body training."

Sakura nodded turning back to her work, she scolded herself, she should have known as much as it was obvious. Averting her eyes back to her work, she quickly wrote a summary on the quarter man, flipping through the pages afterwards to make sure everything was filled in, and then tossing in the growing pile on the cushion next to her on the couch.

As it turned out, she managed to finish her work quicker then she expected. Surprisingly the nurses had managed to do a few things right, not that nurses didn't do their job right. Just that they were horribly underpaid and it showed how aggravating it was in their work.

The men had finished what they were doing, busying themselves in the kitchen with something that Naruto found fascinating. Sakura sat there a second, just letting her mind slow down. It was if a ton of bricks had hit her, she had to attend a meeting with the board next week, and she hadn't even begun the presentation that she was supposed to get ready.

A groan and a slumped shoulder later, Sakura found herself getting up, leaving her things near the couch and wandering towards the bedroom. More then likely Naruto wouldn't care if she took his bed, he probably would have made her sleep in it anyway.

The young tired Doctor poked her head into the kitchen, glancing at the two leaning against the counter, drinking ice water. They were talking about another fighter from the sounds of it, and Sakura didn't want to intrude too much. So, she quickly said good night, earning a nod from Gaara, and Naruto smiling and saying goodnight and that he would see her in the morning.

When she entered the small bedroom, Sakura found herself almost drooling at the site of a bed. It looked so comfortable, a nice big comforter and tons of pillows. It was as if Naruto had bought all these things with her in mind. Little did she know that he had spent all of 10 minutes finding every pillow that he owned and making sure that it was clean for her, which was after he found the best blanket that he owned.

She rummaged around Naruto's small dresser, passing over the condoms, underwear, and magazines as she tried to find a shirt and pants she could wear to bed. The last thing she needed was to sleep in her work pants. Five minutes later she was changed into a pair of plaid brown pajama pants and a loose white t-shirt. Then not even three minutes later, she softly snored in the bed, surrounded by pillows and covered in a large fluffy blanket.

Gaara listened as Naruto continued to talk, and boy did he like to talk. Though the red head did throw his opinion or thought in every now and then, Naruto tended to lead the conversation. That was the way their friendship worked.

"But if I pull that move on him next week, oh man! I'll own him!"

The red head nodded, taking a sip of his water, dropping the glass away from his lips when a sudden torrent of ice hit his lips, crushing them against his teeth. Setting the glass down on the counter, he watched for a second as the condensation dripped onto the counter, adding to the countless water stains blistering the plastic.

"It's getting late, I need to head out. Do you need my help fixing the living room?" His voice was deep, and almost scratchy, it was a voice that he used to get into many a girls pants.

Naruto shook his head, "Nah, I got it. I don't want to wake Sakura up. She's hell when she's cranky."

Gaara nodded, reaching towards the counter, grabbing the simple black T-shirt that he had laid there. He tossed it over his shoulder, not wanting to get sweat stains on his clothing. With a small "Later" he was out the door, closing it softly and heading down the flights of stairs.

The young man soon found himself at the driver side of his car, clicking the button that unlocked his car and climbing in. The laser red Aston Martin sports car growling as he turned the keys, the CD player kicking on and his headlights coming to life.

Tomorrow was going to be a long day, it was nearly morning and he had a business meeting at 12. He made himself comfortable, the black leather squealing as he scooted around on it. The e-brake was soon down, and he was moving the shifter knob into reverse. Gaara soon found himself driving towards the condo that he resided at, his mind wandering to the meeting he would soon be having.

The young red head was the sole owner of Suna Electronics, you know, the electronic company that has its hand in everything, ranging from ballpoint pens, to computer chips. He would be going over the current costs of something. It obviously wasn't a big deal; otherwise he would have remembered was it was.

He rubbed his temples, the meeting was horribly slow. When he had said no to what they were asking, immediately things had gone flying, chairs over turned, and the women in the room left almost screaming. Gaara had to have two of his body guards come and remove a certain gentleman who was waving around a pair of scissors at everyone.

The poor red head still have 5 hours to look forward to, and more then likely it would be him telling people no, they couldn't have millions of dollars to spend on company candy or something along those lines. He needed some way to release his stress, and suddenly the idea struck him. Why not call up Naruto and have him meet him at his home? They could easily spar there.

So he did as he wanted and called the blond man. The plans had been set; the oddly colored pink haired woman from last night would be joining them. It appeared that Naruto was nervous about something when it came to her, as if something horrible could happen, and he was trying his best to keep her with him at all times. It would have almost seemed as if Naruto had more then brotherly feelings towards the girl if he had not known any better.

Work had gone so slowly that Gaara was more then positive that he would have just flopped over on his desk and started drooling if he had to take any more of it. It wasn't that he hated his job, he just hated days like this. It was thoughts like this that ran through his head as he drove home, taking longer then expected because of a horrible traffic jam caused by some idiot talking on his phone.

Upon arriving home, Gaara found his door unlocked and could already hear Naruto shouting something happily. Opening the door, the smell of something cooking reached his nose. Naruto couldn't cook, and it didn't smell like anything was burnt, so it must have been, what's her name? Oh yes, Sakura.

The door closed behind him with a click, and Gaara locked it, only out of habit. A cough rumbling from his chest, grabbing the blonds' attention, he was smiling about something.

"Sakura's cooking!" His arms in the air, as if it was the greatest thing in the world. "I convinced her to convince someone else to take her shift for tonight, and she cooking!" Naruto had obviously noticed the motion the red head made, raising a non-existent eyebrow.

"She the greatest cooker I know!"

As if on cue, said girl had walked into the room, a small stained white apron over a pair of flared blue jeans and a simple red thin strapped shirt. She was molding something in her hands carefully, as if trying to not get any on the flawless looking white carpet.

Gaara looked at the woman, a strange thought of that she looked like she belonged popping into his head. It was quickly over looked though, and wasn't something that he would remember in a few minutes.

"I trust that you found everything ok?"

The pink haired woman nodded an odd twinkle in her green eyes.

"Yes, thank you Gaara. Don't worry, I won't make too much of a mess, and everything I manage to dirty up, I'll clean."

Gaara nodded, it didn't really matter to him. He never cooked for himself; he had people to do it for him, so no need for the actual equipment in there. Now that he thought about it, he really only had it to fill the space. He hated empty space.

"So when are we going to start?"

Naruto was obviously excited, and was almost bouncing up and down on the brown leather sofa that he had taken a seat upon.

"Now if you want. Let me change and I'll meet you in the other room."

The excited man was up and out of the room, almost jumping over the glass coffee table sitting in the expensive looking living room. Gaara followed shortly after, leaving the small woman in the kitchen and Naruto in one of the extra rooms to go change.

Sakura hummed happily as she molded the meat, it oozed from between her fingers, dropping onto the wax paper she had placed on the black marble counter. The last thing she wanted to do was ruin something. Everything in the apartment looked expensive, from the flat screen mounted above the fireplace to the set of cutting knifes next to the steel stove that sat upon the top of the fine counter.

When Naruto had showed up at her work earlier, he had almost resorted to bribing someone to take her shift, telling everyone that he needed to spend quality time with his friend. Somehow, his puppy dog eyes worked, and one of the new doctors took her shift, saying that she owed them.

So here she was, having time to run to her shabby apartment in downtown and change into something more comfortable. Naruto had even been kind enough to let her drop of her coat at the dry cleaners, it was just her luck that a black pen had busted open in her other pocket.

The pink haired woman had suggested cooking to Naruto and he was more then thrilled, claiming that he would have her come over and cook for him is he didn't have Hinata.

Sakura squeezed the meat through her fingers again, strangely finding the feeling almost stress relieving. A little bit of this and a little bit of that, and the meat was thrown into a pan, to be seared to a brown.

Somehow the meal had turned out wonderfully, and due to a lack of room to eat at the bar, Sakura opted for standing near the counter top. Gaara and Naruto both immediately had a problem with this, stating that she cooked, therefore she should at least relax. This did little to persuade her, eventually both men gave up. The red head occasionally glanced her way while listening to Naruto talk about something or another.

Sakura didn't seem to take notice of it and just continued to eat her meal, savoring the food. She hadn't eaten like this in a long time, not having the money for it, so she would have to enjoy it while she could.

It took about 30 minutes for the boys to finish their food; both of them said their thanks and headed back towards the room that they had occupied before. Sakura left to her own devices in the kitchen. Beginning with the silver pan that had been stained black, she tossed it into the sink, turned on the hot water and began to scrub with a metal pad she found underneath the sink.

Next a pot that had been used to boil rice, it was soon sitting next to plates, forks, knifes, and the other kitchenware that was used to cook. Immediately she found herself bored, and let her self wander to the room that she could hear noises coming from.

As soon as she walked through the door, she was shocked at the scene in front of her. Naruto was on a knee panting, holding his side, glaring up at Gaara who had, in Sakura's opinion, an extremely sexy smile. The corners of his mouth perked upwards, his eyes slightly crinkled.

"You bastard! You didn't have to hit me so fucking hard!"

"Hnn."

"You don't mind that I come in here and-" There was a buzzing noise, it was coming from the living room. Instantly Sakura knew it was her phone and turned on her bare heels, heading towards the kitchen counter that he had stashed her purse on.

Reaching it fairly quickly, she reaching into the small black bag, fished around for a moment before she pulled out a small silver cheap looking flip phone. Instantly she paled, her breath catching in her throat.

Naruto had for some odd reason followed her, and when he saw he reaction he moved immediately. Grabbing the phone from her hand he turned red, stopping himself from throwing the phone against the wall. His blue eyes ran over the offending text again before they darted up to Gaara who had just walked out of the room, a brow raised.

Naruto read the text, inhaling heavily through his nose,

"Why didn't you wear an apron for me? Love Sasuke."


	3. Chapter 3

Sorry about the horrible wait, hopefully I'll have two chapters up tonight.

Not much happening in this one, hopefully the next one the fire will start igniting between the two.

R&R!

To say that everything was hectic was an understatement, everything was in completely chaos was an understatement as well. Hell, with the way things were going, it did seem as if the end of the world was just around the corner.

Sakura had fainted upon actually hearing the message out loud, her head almost coming into contact with the hard tile floor if it were not for the quick reflexes of a certain red head. Naruto was throwing a tantrum, the phone broken against the wall, small sparks shooting from it as it gave the last of the power to the keypad light.

"I can't fucking believe him! Once I get my fucking hands on him…I FUCKING SWEAR!!" Naruto was seething, giving up on stomping his foot and preferring to wear a hole in Gaara's fine carpet.

"Naruto, what the hell is going on?" Of course the owner of said apartment would want to know what was going on. A girl fainted, who was now being held in his arms and being carried to the couch. Surprisingly she was very light, almost as if she weighed nothing.

Gaara set the rosette down, careful of her head, he made sure that she was on the couch before he turned back to Naruto, who in the 5 seconds he had turned his back, was sitting on the ground cross legged, and holding his head in his hands.

"I knew I should've done something…"

"Naruto!" That was the first time Gaara had ever raised his voice to the blond, well other then when they were fighting of course.

The man looked up, his blue eyes glazed over, "It's Sasuke."

"And that is…" Gaara was feeling extremely impatient, from the sound of the message, this Sasuke guy was watching Sakura, in HIS apartment. Something that he would not stand for.

"He's Sakura's ex…" Naruto inhaled, and paused, as if trying to find a way to word his thoughts, "He's…A little crazy to put it nicely…"

Again, impatience was rearing its head inside Gaara; his questions were not getting answered. The red head glared at the blond, half tempted to strangle the poor boy, of course it would be more trouble then it's worth, but the thought was somewhat reassuring.

"He was locked away for about 5 years, it wasn't prison if that's what your thinking." Naruto was of course right on the bat, "He went crazy, for what ever the hell reason, and just went psycho on everyone!" With arms thrown in the air, Naruto sighed, obviously this bothered him greatly.

"Sakura broke up with him when he was committed, and that was apparently what sent him of the edge of the rocker. He started sending her letters, calling her late at night. How that fucker got near a phone, is beyond me. She had to move, change her number, and find a new job." He buried his head in his hands again, leaning slightly forward so his elbows rested against his knee's.

Gaara nodded, listening. If this was going to happen in his apartment, he had every right to be involved. And besides, he strangely felt protective of the girl, more then likely it was because she was Naruto's friend, and Naruto was an important person to him.

"She hasn't always worked in the shit hole hospital, she used to be the Leading Surgeon at some great hospital…Fuck, why can't I remember the name!" Blond locks scattered as he shook his head. "Now the fuckers back, and who knows what he'll do."

A groan, then another curse, "She won't be able to go to work now, more then likely he knows her exact schedule!"

"Well obviously we need to figure out something."

Naruto shook his head furiously, "No way, you're not getting involved, last person who got to close to her other then me, is DEAD." The last part he emphasized by running his finger over his neck and sticking his tongue out.

"Too late." It was simple to Gaara, just get rid of the problem. Sure, he didn't want to be involved, but the shear fact that again, someone was looking into his Condo without his permission sent him on the edge. How long had Sasuke been watching? Was his place now bugged? If and where are the camera's hidden?

"We will discuss it when the girl wakes, until then, try not to worry. I will make a phone call and see what I can have done." Gaara had already pulled out his sleek phone, pushing a single button, obviously speed dial. The blond simply nodded his head, finally deciding to stand up and walk over to the unconscious occupant of the couch.

Gaara had moved into another room, talking quietly on the phone, Naruto strained to hear what he was saying, but it was impossible, obviously the red head expected him to try because his voice disappeared as the door to the room he entered shut.

A curse and the blue eyed blond flopped down on the ground next to the couch, his face close to Sakura's. He looked at her softly, his hand reaching up and running over the flawless skin of her cheek. He couldn't stop the chuckle that erupted from his throat. The memory of the horrible acne this poor girl used to have shining clearly in his head.

When she woke up, she had a hard time remembering where she was. The last thing Sakura remembered was the message on the phone, then Naruto reading it out loud. Moving into a bed simply made for a king was not part of that memory. The silk sheets were obviously expensive, and the double king bed was not something that could fit in Naruto's apartment.

A thought struck her, and panic flooded her system. Her clothes! Throwing the thin sheet away from her, relief taking over as she realized that she was still wearing what she had fainted in. Fainted? A slender brow rose, since when did the great Sakura Haruno faint?

A few self scolding's and telling off's and the pink haired woman left the bed, she needed to find out where she was. From the light outside it was obviously dark, how long had she been out for? The door that led out of the room was cracked, and it was dark out in what she could only guess was the hallway.

Her bare feet padded softly against the carpet, screw the color, it was to dark and now was not the time to care! Two doors down she could see a cracked door with a light from what must have been a lamp shining dimly. Sakura needed to find out where the hell she was, so she crept closer to it.

Just as she reached the door, her hand almost against the material of the portal, someone grabbed her roughly. In an instant, she found herself pushed face first into a wall, her arm twisted roughly behind her back and a hand wrapped tightly around her neck.

"What….Sakura?" She was let go, her hand shooting up and rubbing the sore spot on her forehead.

"What are you doing out of bed? It's late." The serious tone, even if she only had known him for a short time, she could recognize blindly.

"Are you always that rough with the girls that are brought into your home?" It was half meant as a joke, one that he caught and his mouth did twitch slightly, Sakura could see it in the dim lighting. At least what she had said had lightened the mood.

"Usually by the time I have them against the wall, they are screaming for me, not at me." A blush attacked Sakura's cheeks, an image appearing in her head. No! She did not need to be thinking like this! It was not the time!

"Anyway," Gaara began sensing the inner turmoil, "You need to go back to bed, it's about 4 in the morning."

"What are you doing up?" She couldn't stop herself, if he was telling her to go to bed like a child, she could at least ask him why the hell he wasn't in bed.

"I don't sleep much. Don't worry about it, go to bed."

It was clearly day when she awoke again, the fact that the sun that managed to sneak its way past the blinds, seemed to find it hilarious to dance on her sleeping form and cause her to sweat.

The sticky feeling of the sheet caused her to groan, she needed a shower, and maybe Gaara would humor her and let her take one? Surely his would be amazing compared to her small compact, in the corner, tiny faucet thing she called a shower.

Sakura stretched, trying to ignore her sticky clothes. The sun was lucky that she couldn't curse it; otherwise, it would be miserable. Maybe an eternal wedgie? The thought brought a small smile to her face, but then another thought. Naruto was rubbing off on her.

Up and out of the room, a hand running through her hair and one scratching her backside. She wanted to growl, the damnable itch wouldn't go away and she couldn't fully get it through her jeans without just sticking her hand down her pants. Which was not an option with two people, men no less, around somewhere.

The hall way was a shorter stretch then she remembered, of course, last night when she had walked down it, it had been dark and she had been man handled. Sakura ran a hand through her hair, the rose colored locks untangling around her fingers. A shower was quickly moving onto the top of her "to do" list.

The scene that greeted her upon entering the main room was that of Naruto snoring loudly and halfway on the couch; His legs over the top, and his head resting against his shoe on the floor. A smile spread over the doctors' face, only Naruto.

A small cough pulled her from her thoughts and she turned on her heels, coming face to face with the red head.

"You're up early."

The smile appeared on her face again, though this time, along with a slight almost unnoticeable blush, "How early is it?"

Gaara looked down at his expensive watch, which looked out of place considering he was wearing a pair of blue sweat pants and a simple white T-shirt.

"Nearly 10."

"What? Nearly 10?" Sakura almost sounded panicked, "I've never slept past 8 since high school!" Her hands immediately shot up towards her head, a groan escaping her thin throat.

"I'm late for work!!" Pink locks were soon being tugged at, "I can't be late! I'll never get out of that place if I'm not perfect!" She began racing to the corner where she had left her things the following night, grabbing her shoes, keys and purse.

"I can't believe this, I still have to run home, get dressed. Oh my god! What am I going to do!"

Gaara looked at her, blinking twice, trying to decide if it was wise for him to try to get her attention in this frenzied state that she was in. Might as well get it over with, and with a sigh he stepped in front of her as she rushed past him again.

"You're not going in today."

Ok, maybe that wasn't the right way to say it. Her eyes widened, and her mouth set in a thin line. Slowly her posture changed, legs spreading slowly, and her shoulders squaring.

"What?" Her tone flat and her eyes set dead on him. Immediately Gaara felt as if his decision was the wrong one, and he regretted it; not something he did often. Mentally Gaara slapped himself for not heeding Naruto's warning when he had warned him of her short temper when stressed.

"I mean, Naruto called your work, told them that you needed time to yourself because of an emergency."

As if he had pushed a button, flames shot from her eyes and she turned her whole body towards the poor man sleeping on the couch. A single almost ungodly huge step for someone her size and she was standing above the snoring blond.

"Oh Naruto…" Her voice sickly disguised as sweet an innocent.

The green eyed, red haired man let out an uncharacteristic strangled gasp, Sakura had her purse raised and was swinging it down towards Naruto's head.

"Wake up you idiot! You have some explaining to do!" The thwacking noise echoed around them, even continued when Naruto had sat up and started to scream for her to stop.

"I'm awake! Stop! Ok! Ok! OW! Woman! Chill out!"

A vein twitched in her forehead, "What did you call me!?" and again the beating started up.

Even though Gaara found the situation almost funny, it needed to come to an end. So he steeled himself, knowing that when he tried to stop her, more then likely her temper would be set upon him. When he had moved, coming up behind her and grabbing the offending purse when she had swung it up again, from her hands, what happened next was not what he expected.

She fell to the floor, in front of Naruto, her face buried in her hands, and her shoulders shaking as she sobbed, "What am I going to do?"

Naruto had moved quickly turning himself over with a thud on the floor, scrambling over and trying to comfort the crying woman.

"Sakura it's going to be-UGH!"

With almost inhuman strength Sakura had pushed Naruto away, looking up at him through the tears pooling in her green eyes, "NO! It's not going to be ok!"

"You remember how it was last time Naruto! I couldn't even take a fucking shower!" She slouched over further if possible, "I won't be able to live any more…He's going to be there, and there's nothing I can do about it."

The defeated tone in her voice bothered Gaara, it wasn't like her. Somehow he knew this in the short time he knew her, and it wasn't something that he wasn't going to accept.

"You can stay at my smaller condo until things are figured out." The way he spoke left no room for argument, though the way Sakura sat back up, clearly she was going to give one.


End file.
